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Q&A

Welcome to the Judaism community on Codidact!

Will you help us build our community of learners? Drop into our study hall, ask questions, help others with answers to their questions, share a d'var torah if you're so inclined, invite your friends, and join us in building this community together. Not an ask-the-rabbi service, just people at all levels learning together.

General Q&A about Judaism, Jewish texts, and Jewish life. This site does not give personal advice.

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Which is a higher priority on Dec 24 at night?

This year, the first night of Channukah is the evening of the 25th of December. This question would be about a year in which Channukah starts on or before the 24th. In that case, one would be faced...

1 answer  ·  posted 10h ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 8h ago by manassehkatz‭

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How heavy were the bowls the high priest carried in the Yom Kippur service?

I'm learning mishna Yoma, which describes the high priest's service on Yom Kippur, and I was struck by some of the logistical challenges. I am wondering, in particular, about the bowls of blood. ...

0 answers  ·  posted 5d ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Analyze an electric vehicle on Shabbat

I started thinking about this from a random post and thought of many question, probably missing the important ones. So this is structured as an argument between two people trying to follow the law ...

0 answers  ·  posted 8d ago by Fred Wamsley‭

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Holding a menorah-pitcher or an incense-pan while blessing the people

Mishna, Tamid 7:2: בָּאוּ וְעָמְדוּ עַל מַעֲלוֹת הָאוּלָם עָמְדוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לִדְרוֹם אֲחֵיהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה כֵלִים בְּיָדָם הַטֶּנִי בְיַד אֶחָד וְהַכּוּז בְּיַד אֶחָד וְהַמַּחְתָּ...

0 answers  ·  posted 16d ago by msh210‭

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Becoming Tameii for the wrong reasons

In biblical/temple times, would it have been wrong to vounteer to do something which will make one tameii if the motivation is to avoid a different obligation? If I don't want to spend time with m...

0 answers  ·  posted 2mo ago by rosends‭

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7.14 days in a week?

Reading Bereshit I ask for the precise measure of a year using seven days and it does not work mathematically. How do you make it work as Hashem is perfect?

0 answers  ·  posted 2mo ago by Dan2dxs‭

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Why did we say A"H on the Shabbat before R"H?

On the sabbath before the new month, we announce the upcoming new moon and on those days, we also do NOT say Av Harachamim (except during sefirah when the history of persecution is particularly rel...

0 answers  ·  posted 2mo ago by rosends‭

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Variant Minhagim in Messianic Days

Once moshiach comes, we will have resolution to all sorts of halachic issues which have been left unresolved (teikus for example and even, maybe eilu v'eilu cases). But what about minhagim, some of...

0 answers  ·  posted 2mo ago by rosends‭

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Why is a tallit worn at night on Yom Kippur?

A tallit is normally worn only during the day, yet there is a custom to also wear it for all services of Yom Kippur including Kol Nidrei. Why? I've heard that it's because we take the torah scrol...

0 answers  ·  posted 2mo ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Brachot on Mitzvot

There are certain things that we do because we have been commanded to, and the bracha on these mitzvot includes the phrase "asher kidishanu" indicating that Hashem commanded us to perform these mit...

0 answers  ·  posted 3mo ago by rosends‭

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Were there other haftarah readings before the Tisha b'Av readings were set?

After Tisha b'Av we have seven special haftarah readings, which always align with the same torah portions. Every chumash I've seen gives these special readings for those parshiyot. I was taught t...

1 answer  ·  posted 4mo ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 3mo ago by AA ‭

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Parsing Hebrew word

I was paring a Hebrew word and left with a biconsonantal But on the answer key it had three Hebrew letters intead of two Hebrew letters. A III he, was added to the end of the biconsonantal. What am...

0 answers  ·  posted 4mo ago by Jazz661232‭

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Why move from discussing Jews to non-Jews

At the beginning of Perek Chelek in Masechet Sanhedrin, the text specifies that "All Israel has a share in the world to come." But when the exceptions are presented, Bilam is included and he isn't ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5mo ago by rosends‭  ·  edited 5mo ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Why an on-time circumcision?

I have frequently heard people wish a newborn baby boy that he "merit an on-time circumcision". Now, in general, an on-time circumcision is performed if the baby is healthy enough, and is not perf...

1 answer  ·  posted 5mo ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 5mo ago by manassehkatz‭

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Talit on Ninth of Av

I have read that men wear a tallit gadol at Shacharit because of a connection to Avraham (the mitzvah was given in his merit and Shacharit is 'his' prayer). Why then are men instructed to wear it a...

1 answer  ·  posted 5mo ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 5mo ago by manassehkatz‭

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Who says Rebbi said Kiddush?

I read the following statement on the Chabad.org website https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=12/9/2022 "The Talmud (Ketubot 103a) relates that even after his passing, for a time, Ra...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 5mo ago by dovweinstein‭

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Can you make a Siyum if you learn the material in a different order?

Every time I've made a Siyum in the past, it's been after learning all of the material in order. When making a siyum on a Seder of the Mishna, it was after learning every Masechet in order; when ma...

1 answer  ·  posted 6mo ago by Mithical‭  ·  last activity 6mo ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Why isn't (or wasn't) Purim 2 days long in Chutz La'Aretz?

We have a second day of yom tov outside of Israel because the delay (or the deception) allowed for uncertainty about the date of Rosh Chodesh, therefore, the certainty regarding the date of the hol...

0 answers  ·  posted 6mo ago by rosends‭

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When did the Torah become the Torah scroll we recognize?

At what point did a sefer torah start to look like the sefer torah that we know? When Moshe wrote the torah, did he do so as a sofer, requiring kavanot and immersion and sirtutim and a particular ...

0 answers  ·  posted 7mo ago by rosends‭

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How big a building can be included in the eiruv?

In the movie Dredd (and in the comic books) the cities have huge apartment buildings in them which serve as mini-cities on their own (called "blocks" I think). Vast numbers of people can live in on...

1 answer  ·  posted 7mo ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 7mo ago by Fred Wamsley‭

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Pesach (oni) vs. Pesach (sheini)

I noticed that Pesach goes from being a holiday marked by עני to one, a month later, called שני, moving from ayin (eye) to shein (tooth). Yeah, I know that the words don't actually mean that (pover...

0 answers  ·  posted 8mo ago by rosends‭

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(non)Counting of the Omer

I remember from when I was in elementary school that we try very carefully NOT to count the omer before we count the omer. We refer to the current count by stating what yesterday's count was. But ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8mo ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 8mo ago by manassehkatz‭

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Adam's Age and lifespan

I recall hearing of a medrash which explains that Adam harishon was supposed to live until 1000 years old but he saw that Dovid Hamelech would die as an infant so he "donated" 70 of his years to Da...

0 answers  ·  posted 9mo ago by rosends‭

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Why the odd pronunciation of "בני יששכר"?

Rabbi Tz'vi Elimelech Spira of Dynów wrote a book called "בני יששכר" that is popular enough that he himself is sometimes called the "בני יששכר". But the phrase (whether referring to the book or to ...

0 answers  ·  posted 9mo ago by msh210‭

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How is Mitoch Shelo lishma ba lishma allowed?

I'm not fully finished with this question as I haven't researched all of my premises, and if someone can point me in the direction of a resource which would stop my question before it starts, that ...

0 answers  ·  posted 10mo ago by rosends‭

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Can suicide be halachically acceptable?

This is a strange fact pattern that I thought of and I will explain my premises as I move through it, but the bottom line is whether a person can use suicide as a halachically acceptable behavior: ...

0 answers  ·  posted 11mo ago by rosends‭

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Should a Noahide convert to Reform Judaism if no Orthodox community is accessible?

If a Noahide wants to convert to Judaism and the nearest Orthodox community is hundreds of miles away, should he go with what's available in his area? Even if it's Reform? As I understand it, Juda...

1 answer  ·  posted 11mo ago by deleted user  ·  last activity 11mo ago by deleted user

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Taking goods from Egyptians

During the plague of darkness, the Jews went around to scout out what the Egyptians had in their houses and then they "asked" for things before they left and the Egyptians gave them lots. No doubt...

0 answers  ·  posted 11mo ago by rosends‭

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How is the latest time for Channukah candles determined?

One may light Channukah candles ad shetichle regel min hashuk, until people stop walking through the market, because after that there would be no pirsumei nisa, advertisement of the miracle, outsid...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  edited 12mo ago by msh210‭

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Shimon in Egyptian jail

After Yosef gave the brothers provisions, he kept Shimon (Bereisheet 42:24) there to guarantee that the brothers would return with Binyomin. They went home and didn't come back until they ran out o...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  edited 12mo ago by msh210‭

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How do you name a non-Jew for Mi Sheberach?

Ploni is the child of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. The father is ill and Ploni would like to say Mi Sheberach for him in a minyan. How should Ploni form the name for a non-Jewish rela...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Did Moshe's wife and sons remain with Yisrael during the time in the wilderness?

In Shemot 18:2-4, Yitro comes from Midian to join the Israelites after the exodus, bringing Moshe's wife Tzipporah and his sons Gershon and Eliezer. This appears to be the torah's last mention of ...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  edited 1y ago by manassehkatz‭

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Different Trop when laining

Ignoring the question of why, there is a practice of using different musical trop when laining the 10 commandments from when studying it. Are there other examples of different trop or pronunciatio...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭

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Tevillas Keilim on Used things

I was reading up on tevillas keilim and saw the following statements on this site: Utensils require tevila if they were given by a Jew to a Yehudi as a gift or if they were bought from a aino Ye...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by manassehkatz‭

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Halacha applied differently dependent on the situation

I recall asking someone about whether a Jew could work in a non-kosher restaurant. One of the opinions I heard was that a Jew shouldn't because "odds are" that the person, as a waiter, will end up ...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by manassehkatz‭

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Tallow candles and Kashrut

There are candles that are made from beef tallow (https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/01/tallow-emergency-candles.html). If one were to burn one, residue and soot from incomplete combustion co...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by PinnyM‭

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The Essence of Judaism

What is hateful to you, do not do to others. That is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation. Go learn! ~ Rabbi Hillel I would like to know the ouisa (essence) of Judaism (the oldest of t...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Hudjefa‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Fred Wamsley‭

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Halachically, what is bread?

I was recently doing some baking, and it led to a household discussion: what makes bread bread, as opposed to mezunot? I wondered if it might be about ingredients. Bread, fundamentally, is made o...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Mithical‭

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Can cultivated meat be kosher?

I am wondering what the range of opinions are, and what the key legal points are, on the question of whether cultivated meat can be kosher. The New York Times (paywalled) just published an article...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Fred Wamsley‭

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Whose minhag is S. Y. Agnon describing in the Shabbat lunch scene in "The Kerchief"?

In S. Y. Agnon's short story "The Kerchief", we're treated to this snippet of the narrator's Shabbat lunch traditions: Father entered, said, "A Sabbath of peace and blessing," put his tallit on ...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Mithical‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by ka00‭

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dikduk question.

What is the difference in translation according to dikduk (grammar) between שנואה AND שניאה? Both are used in Devarim 21:15 to refer to the same person.

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by interested‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by ka00‭

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Why must yefas toar be allowed

We have in Ki Setze the laws of 'yefas toar' meaning a non-Jewish woman captured in war whom a Jewish man now wants as his wife. The meforshim (commentators) say that the only reason this was allow...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by interested‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by ka00‭

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Wine Making things treif

Non kosher food creates a status in dishes that requires that they go through a kashering process. I recall learning that this is at least partially to remove any residual taste or particulates fro...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by robbiefowler‭

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Why was Rabbi Eliezer ostracized?

The context here is the aftermath of the debate about the oven of Akhnai. What did Rabbi Eliezer do that was worthy of ostracism? Dissent, by itself, must have happened many times without discipl...

2 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Fred Wamsley‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by robbiefowler‭

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Why was Shabbat given in a roundabout way?

Someone at my seder asked about the ordering in Dayeinu, specifically that "had God not given us Shabbat..." comes before "had God not give us the Torah..." -- but wasn't Shabbat given at Sinai, as...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Why is the system of listing unkosher animals inconsistent?

I am looking for resources that go through the section (Vayikra 11:1-30) with a fine toothed comb and discuss and explain the inconsistencies in how animals are described/listed. I have assembled a...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭

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Tzidkat'cha in the presence of a mourner

If one is in shul on a Shabbos afternoon and a mourner (who is in his 7 days) is davening there, does the minyan say Tzidkat'cha? My logic -- during the week,one does not say tachanun in the house...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by manassehkatz‭

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Nemuel vs Yemuel

I am looking at the geneology of the 12 tribes and I found that Reuvein had son named Palu. Palu had a son named Eli'av and Eli'av had 3 sons, Datan, Aviram and Nemuel (Bamidbar 26:9) וּבְנֵ֣י אֱל...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭

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Was Mordechai Consoled?

When Haman came home after leading Mordechai around, he complained to his wife, Zeresh. Her reaction was (from Sefaria) וַיְסַפֵּ֨ר הָמָ֜ן לְזֶ֤רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ֙ וּלְכׇל־אֹ֣הֲבָ֔יו אֵ֖ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by rosends‭

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Why is kosher wine sometimes boiled?

I've been reading recent debates about Catholic communion wine, and which types of wine are or are not valid. One person suggested that kosher wine is always valid, someone else said that kosher wi...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by TRiG‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by rosends‭